Activity pad for tables

ABSTRACT

The fitted activity pad is a covering that is fitted onto a tabletop in order to protect the table top from damage and shield children from potential injury from bumping against the edges of the tabletop. The fitted activity pad has a top portion decorated with indicia and at least one sidewall extending around the top portion of the pad. The sidewall is stuff with a cushioning material. An elastic gather extends around the periphery of the sidewall, which provides the necessary elasticity to maintain the fitted pad onto the tabletop. The fitted activity pad is reversible and may be designed with additional indicia on the bottom surface of the pad.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to furniture covers, and particularly to a fitted activity pad for covering tabletops.

2. Description of the Related Art

Parents of young children often must childproof their homes so that the children do not harm themselves by bumping into hard edges, catching their fingers in drawers, etc. Young children also have a tendency to wreak havoc on walls, expensive furniture, upholstery and other household items. Many covers do exist that serve the dual purpose of protecting children from injury and protecting household items from being damaged by children.

Tables especially are wont to be damaged by writing or playing on the tabletops and are not easily protected against such damage. Further, tabletop edges are difficult to cover in a convenient manner that protects children from banging their heads on the hard edges. While covers may protect these tables, the covers are not necessarily interesting for children who still need a surface on which to play.

Accordingly, there is a need for a protective cover for table tops that protects children from harming themselves against hard table top edges, prevents children from damaging table surfaces and additionally offers children an interesting play surface that provides them with numerous activities in which they may engage. Thus, a fitted activity pad solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The fitted activity pad is a covering that is fitted onto a tabletop in order to protect the table top from damage and shield children from potential injury from bumping against the edges of the tabletop. The fitted activity pad has a top portion decorated with indicia and at least one sidewall extending around the top portion of the pad. An elastic gather extends around the periphery of the sidewall, which provides the necessary elasticity to maintain the fitted pad onto the tabletop.

The sidewall is stuffed with at least one-half inch of a cushioning material so that when the fitted pad is placed on the tabletop, the sidewall covers the edge of the tabletop. The top portion of the fitted pad may also be stuffed with at least one-half inch of cushioning material.

The bottom surface of the fitted pad may also have indicia on it so that the fitted activity pad may be reversed for use on either side of the pad. Additionally, three-dimensional formations may be constructed into the top portion of the fitted pad.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a fitted activity pad according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the fitted activity pad according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the fitted activity pad according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is a fitted activity pad adapted for covering a tabletop. The fitted pad, designated generally as 10 in the drawings, is a pad stuffed with material and designed to fit over the edges of a tabletop.

Referring first to FIG. 1, an environmental, perspective view of the fitted activity pad 10 is shown. The fitted activity pad 10 is a pad stuffed with material having a top portion 12 that is adapted to cover a tabletop surface. The top portion 12 may be decorated with a variety of indicia, including a checkers surface, roadways, or any other indicia suitable for children. The fitted activity pad 10 is placed over a tabletop 100 and pulled over the tabletop edges 102 to cover the tabletop 100. The activity pad 10 is stuffed with material, thereby preventing children who accidentally run into the table edge 102 from hurting themselves.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the fitted activity pad 10 is shown. The fitted pad 10 includes the top portion 12 and at least one sidewall 14 extending around the top portion 12 and defining an open bottom 16. The sidewall 14 has an elastic gather 20 extending about the periphery of the sidewall 14, allowing the pad 10 to be fitted. When placed over the tabletop 100, the elastic gather 20 secures the fitted activity pad 10 to the tabletop 100 by collecting the sidewall 14 about the edges 102 of the tabletop 100.

The sidewall 14 is padded with a cushioning material so that when the fitted pad 10 is placed over the tabletop 100, the sidewall 14 covers the edges 102 of the tabletop 100. The top portion 12 of the pad 10 may additionally be padded with fill material so that the top of the tabletop can be protected against wear and tear by children. The sidewall 14 has a thickness of at least one-half inch of fill material. If the top portion 12 of the fitted pad 10 is padded, the top portion 12 will have a thickness of at least one-half inch.

The fitted pad 10 may be filled with fleece batting, cotton, or any other material able to provide enough padding to provide a thickness of at least one-half inch.

Three-dimensional formations may be constructed into the top portion 12 of the fitted pad 10 to represent, for example, buildings, geographic arrangements and the like. Additionally, the fitted pad 10 has a bottom surface 18 on the other side of the top portion 12 of the pad 10, which may be decorated with indicia, such that a user may place the fitted activity pad 10 on the table top 100 with either the top portion 12 of the pad 10 exposed or the bottom surface 18 exposed. The fitted pad 10 is therefore reversible, providing multiple designs depending on the needs of the user.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A fitted activity pad adapted for covering a table top, comprising: a top portion; and at least one sidewall extending around the top portion of the pad, the sidewall defining an open bottom and having an elastic gather about the periphery of the sidewall, the sidewall having padding to cushion the sidewall.
 2. The fitted activity pad according to claim 1, wherein the top portion has padding to cushion the top portion.
 3. The fitted activity pad according to claim 1, wherein the sidewall has a thickness of at least one-half inch.
 4. The fitted activity pad according to claim 2, wherein the top portion has a thickness of at least one-half inch.
 5. The fitted activity pad according to claim 1, wherein the pad is reversible.
 6. The fitted activity pad according to claim 1, wherein the padding comprises fleece batting.
 7. The fitted activity pad according to claim 1, wherein the padding comprises cotton.
 8. A fitted activity pad in combination with a table top, comprising: a table top having at least one edge; and a fitted pad removably covering the tabletop, the fitted pad having: a top portion; and at least one sidewall extending around the top portion of the pad, the sidewall defining an open bottom and having an elastic gather about the periphery of the sidewall, the sidewall having padding in order to cover and cushion the edge of the table top.
 9. The fitted activity pad according to claim 8, wherein the top portion has padding in order to cushion the tabletop.
 10. The fitted activity pad according to claim 8, wherein the sidewall has a thickness of at least one-half inch.
 11. The fitted activity pad according to claim 8, wherein the top portion has a thickness of at least one-half inch.
 12. The fitted activity pad according to claim 8, wherein the pad is reversible.
 13. The fitted activity pad according to claim 8, wherein the padding comprises fleece batting.
 14. The fitted activity pad according to claim 8, wherein the padding comprises cotton. 